The present invention relates generally to the preparation of both home-sewn and ready-made clothing and more particulary relates to the adaptation of articles of clothing to the particular anatomical contours and configurations of a specific subject for achieving a proper and flattering fit.
A significant short coming of known processes for producing articles of clothing has heretofore centered on a failure to adequately resolve the competing factors of providing proper and flattering fits irrespective of the wide variety in individual anatomical contours and configurations while simultaneously achieving maximum economies of mass production. A compromise is ordinarily drawn between these competing considerations by providing each article in a variety of sizes and in some cases with variations of sleeve lengths, collar sizes and the like within each particular size. Other attempts to alleviate this difficulty includes adopting frequently experienced particular curvatures and angular adjustments for particular articles which are designed to achieve optimum fits for a broader number of persons and thereafter providing individual tailoring following the purchase of a particular article.
The above-described solution approximations have heretofore resulted in requiring clothes designers and tailors to purchase and maintain large inventories of tailoring and pattern tools. It is particularly significant in this regard to note that although various types of straight, curved and combinations of both straight and curved surfaced tools, including sundry pattern drafting tools have been heretofore presented, no known tool has ever been advanced which embraces all of the angles, lineations and curvatures needed to properly make and adjust clothing patterns. This aspect of the difficulty is particularly acute for in-home preparers of home-sewn clothing since it is believed that the onerous burden of acquiring and maintaining large inventories of tailoring tools coupled with the complexities attendant using same foreclose this avenue of self-help to a significantly large group of clothing consumers.
The present invention alleviates many of the above-described deficiencies by providing a multiple-curved styling and tailoring tool of substantially transparent colored plastic material which not only is believed to encompass every straight, curved and angular surface needed to properly draft or adjust a clothing pattern; but, also is both relatively uncomplex in its applications and readily manufacturable thereby being relatively inexpensive to produce.
In its preferred embodiment the tool is an elongate curved article having a length of about 30 inches, a maximum width of about 5 inches, a thickness of about 80 mm, a substantially semi-circular curved end and a relatively straight end.
In particular, each major face of the elongate tool is provided with: a relatively linear end; a top surface which is substantially linear for a majority of its length beginning at the linear end and thereafter describes an upward arc (herein called the inside curvature); and a bottom surface (herein called the outside curvature) which curves downwardly from the linear end for about one-half of its length and thereafter curves upwardly until the tool obtains a maximum length thence converging with the top surface so as to provide the tool with a substantially semi-circular end.
It is especially important to note that the present tool has means defining a continuous grid substantially all around the periphery of each of its major faces, the grids comprising a plurality of adjoining one inch squares with each square containing 64 one-eighth inch squares, it being understood that certain squares undergo some distortion relating to the curved areas of the tool.
Yet further features, advantages and objectives of the invention will become apparent, and the full nature of the invention will be more readily understood from the accompanying drawings and the following descriptions and claims.